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Precious metal investors who hold gold assets are having a good day today. The king of precious metals, gold, has broken through an all-time high and is currently trading at over $3,551 per ounce as of the time of this writing. The milestone highlights a terrific year for gold so far. Heres what you need to know and why gold just hit an all-time high. Whats happened? The price of one ounce of gold hit an all-time high on Tuesday. One ounce of the precious metal passed $3,551 this morning, a new record. Golds rise post Labor Day is just the latest bit of good news for investors in the precious metal this year. Since the beginning of 2025, golds value has increased by more than 36%. Over the past year, gold has surged more than 42%. Golds previous milestone was only six months ago in March, when the metal surpassed the $3,000 mark for the first time. It has since surged more than $500 per ounce, hitting todays price of more than $3,550. Why is gold surging? There are several factors likely influencing the record-busting price of gold as of late. The first is that gold is often regarded as a safe-haven asset during times of economic uncertainty. Theres a good chance that when stock markets are falling, gold is rising. Thats because investors seek safe-haven assets that are less volatile than stocks. This year has been marked by uncertainty. Since President Trump took office for the second time in January and unleashed his tariffs upon the world in the spring, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty have spread across the globe, worrying investors. Such uncertainty has prompted some investors to seek safe-haven assets, such as gold. A potential crisis for the Fed But gold is likely also rising thanks to more recent Trump-fueled events, too. Specifically, President Trump has recently intensified his attacks on the Federal Reserve, increasing his criticism of the central bank and its monetary policies, particularly regarding interest rates, which the president believes are too high. In his war with the Fed, Trump has vocalized his desire to see Fed Chair Jerome Powell replaced, and, most recently, has announced the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cooksomething Cook is challenging through the courts. Many economists fear Trump is trying to destroy the Feds independence and staff it with loyalists who will do his bidding, which would put the faith that global institutions and governments have in Americas central bank. This fear has already impacted the value of the U.S. dollar, which is also considered a traditional safe-haven asset. The Fed is widely expected to reduce interest rates by 0.25% on September 17. The rate cut, if it happens, would likely lead to a further decline in the dollars value. As Reuters notes, non-yielding gold often performs well in a low-interest-rate environment. Tariff uncertainty A final likely reason gold is up in recent days is Trumps tariffs. Not his imposition of them, but the possibility that most of the tariffs Trump has levied against countries since the spring are illegal and thus unenforceable. A U.S. appeals court vote of 74 on August 29 against the Trump Administration leaves open the possibility that the U.S. government may have to repay most of the tariffs it has collected so far. The ruling casts further uncertainty over the U.S. and global economiesand is a significant factor in why U.S. markets are down on their first trading day after the Labor Day holiday. As noted by Reuters, the court has allowed the tariffs to remain in place until October 14, and the Trump Administration has already said it will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up a significant courtroom showdown that could greatly curtailor reinforceTrumps power. Until then, investors seem to believe that gold may be one of the best bets as a hedge against the ongoing economic uncertainty.
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E-Commerce
U.S. stocks are tumbling on Tuesday, and some of Wall Street’s biggest stars are leading the way lower.The S&P 500 sank 1.2% and was on track for its worst loss in a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 498 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:37 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down a market-leading 1.4%. All three are still close to their recently set records.Nvidia and other companies that have benefited from the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology were some of the heaviest weights on the market. They have soared for years on expectations that they’re at the vanguard of the next revolution for the global economy. But they’ve also shot so high that critics say their prices have simply become too expensive.Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, fell 2.3%. Broadcom, another chip giant, fell 2.1%.The overall stock market was feeling pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.27% from 4.23% late Friday. When bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks.Longer-term bond yields are on the rise around the world, in part because of worries about how difficult it will be for governments to repay their growing mountains of debt.In the United States, Treasury yields are feeling additional pressure from President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates sooner. The fear is that a less independent Fed will be less likely to make the unpopular decisions needed to keep inflation under control, such as keeping short-term interest rates higher than investors would like.Tuesday was also the first opportunity for trading in the U.S. Treasury market after a federal appeals court ruled that Trump overstepped his legal authority when announcing sweeping tariffs on almost every country on Earth, though it left the tariffs in place for now. While the tariffs have created confusion and may have hurt the U.S. job market, they also have brought in revenue that could help the U.S. government pay some of its debt.In another signal about increasing worries in financial markets, the price of gold rose 1% and was near its record. The metal has often provided a haven for investors in times of uncertainty.On Wall Street, Constellation Brands tumbled 6.4% after the beer, wine and spirits company warned that it’s seen a slowdown in purchases of its high-end beers, particularly among its Hispanic customers. That pushed it to slash its forecast for profit this fiscal year.Kraft Heinz slipped 1.4% after announcing that it’s splitting into two, a decade after a merger of the brands created one of the biggest food companies on the planet.One of the companies will include shelf stable meals and include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include the Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables brands. The official names of the two companies will be released later.Among the market’s few gainers was PepsiCo, which jumped 3.5% after an investment firm said it sent suggestions to the company’s board to reaccelerate its growth and boost financial performance. The investor, Elliott Management, has a history of buying into companies and then pushing for big changes that can lead to better stock performance.In stock markets abroad, indexes slumped across Europe, with Germany’s DAX losing 2%. That was after a more mixed finish in Asia, where indexes rose 0.9% in Seoul but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
Packaged food giant the Kraft Heinz Company announced on Tuesday that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to split into two separate, publicly traded companies. The proposed split will essentially reverse a merger between the companies from 2015, which has not provided favorable long-term results. Shares of Kraft Heinz (NYSE:KHC) were down more than 4% in early trading on Tuesday after the announcement. The stock is down 13% year to date and more than 25% over the last 12 months. What will the breakup look like? The names of the two separate companies have yet to be decided. The first company, referred to in the news release as Global Taste Elevation Co., will primarily feature shelf-stable meals. It will include brands like Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia. The second company, referred to in the news release as North American Grocery Co., will feature a scaled portfolio of North American staples. It will include brands like Kraft Singles, Lunchables, and Oscar Mayer. The proposed separation is intended to be tax-free, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026. According to Kraft Heinz, the split is intended to maximize Kraft Heinzs capabilities and brands while reducing complexity, allowing both new companies to more effectively deploy resources toward their distinct strategic priorities.” “By separating into two companies, we can allocate the right level of attention and resources to unlock the potential of each brand to drive better performance and the creation of long-term shareholder value,” said Miguel Patricio, executive chair of the Kraft Heinz board, in a statement. A question-and-answer session is scheduled for today, Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Mega-merged companies are thinking smaller The proposed split follows a recent trend in which larger companies are splitting into two smaller entities, sometimes undoing the size and scale they’d achieved by merging in the first place. In 2023, The Kellogg Companys board of directors approved a plan to split into two separate entities: Kellanova, which would focus on snack foods, and WK Kellogg Co, which would primarily focus on cereals. The separation was finalized in October 2023. Unilever, meanwhile, announced plans in 2024 to spin off its ice cream division as a separate company. The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which will operate as a stand-alone business featuring brands such as Ben & Jerrys, Magnum, and Wall’s, is expected to go public during the last quarter of 2025. And just last week, Keurig Dr Pepper announced its ultimate plans to split into two separate companies. It will acquire JDE Peets, then operate as two businessesone focused on coffee and another on other beverages, such as sodas and energy drinks.
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E-Commerce
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